Ciara Sotto admits she previously suffered from depression.

Despite the mental illness being common among people, they are still receiving criticisms and ridicule as the the stigma of being depressed. What is worse that majority of Filipino people are not informed properly about depression and other mental illnesses like anxiety disorder, dyslexia, bipolar disorder, and alike.

“I myself suffered from depression. Although access to mental health was limited then, I was fortunate because I was able to cope up through various activities such as pole and areal sports and other workouts,” he said.

Ciara said that she is ecstatic to find out that the Mental Health law will be enacted because it will help other people with mental illness to treat their condition.

“With the passage of the mental health, I am optimistic that more and more Filipinos who are silently suffering from mental health conditions will get out of their hideaways and face the problem head on,” she said.

She attended a forum about the law in behalf of her father, Senate President Tito Sotto, who is the principal author of the law.